Aquatic Kingdom Hearts: Dead Man's Chest
by Stone-Man85
Summary: Two of the Hearts of the Sea have been protected. Now the Third Heart is being pursued; now our heroes must win this race against evil. That, and Jack has a debt to pay off. ArielxEric, FreyxKida, and OlettexSeifer
1. DMC trailer

Stone-Man85 Productions presents…

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_A ruined and wrecked ship was beached on to rocks. A storm was hazing down, nearly soaking the ship down to the middle of the ocean. Eric is wandering onboard the beached ship, dressed in his battle attire, his Seablade and Zeus Fist, while holding a lantern, looking for something._

_Ariel is standing on the front port of Whitmore's ship, in the same dreary rainy weather._

_Looking at the ocean in a darkened day are Frey and Kida looking rather worried about something._

_Flounder, Dax, and Sebastian look at something, scared in their boots at this turn of events._

_Both Olette and Seifer stand together with Brutus in the darkness, searching for something._

_Jack looks around his wine cellar, confused but looking for something with his lantern._

"What is it that's got Jack so spooked?" Eric asked Gibbs.

_Suddenly, coming out of the water shore of Isla Cruces, Jones' men rise up with their weapons at the ready._

Jack, with faded face paint on his face, looks to Eric and the others as he asks, "How much do you lot know about Davey Jones?"

Jones pushes through his men as he demonically looks to whomever he's looking face-to-face to. He then spoke in a demanding tone, "You owe me your soul…"

_Jack overlooks a beach area, deep in thought on something._

_Eric looked to his left, half exhausted after running or being in a fight._

"And it's time to pay up," Jones finished as his men cackled together victoriously and evilly.

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**Coming soon to Fanfiction near you**

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_Crows are cawing as they fly over a desolate prison on a high cliff side._

_The _Flying Dutchman _is cutting through the oceans in a darkened rainy storm_. Jones is playing his organ with his tentacle beard as he looked like he was enjoying it.

"Is there anything that can be done?" Frey asks.

"Well," Jack states as he tugged at his beard, "There is a chest…"

"The Dead Man's Chest," a coralized Grimsby answered.

_An enlarged view of the Black Pearl is shown at the ocean, sailing to Isla Cruces. Jack and Eric lead a canoe expedition down a swampy river way._

"To find it," Tia Dalma explained to them as she looked at them mysteriously, "You must sail to the Ends of de Earth, and beyond."

_Jones' men execute the prisoners/survivors._

Jack smirked at this compass as he looked to the crew, "We have our heading."

_Cannons fired at an unseen target, as Eric jumped from the sail masts. _

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**Stone-Man95 Productions presents…**

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"De Tree Hearts cannot work alone," Tia stated as she looked over to Ariel and Kida, "Dey require de Tree Princesses who govern dem hearts as well."

Jack Sparrow looks down, all heroic on his deck, down at someone. "Captain Sparrow!"

_Ariel walks down the docks, with Sebastian on her shoulder, and in her battle attire. _

Jack nearly paled as he gulped, "Miss Ariel," he then put on the old Jack Sparrow charm, "You know, those clothes don't flatter you at all. It should be a dainty dress or nothing."

_With an impressive move or whatnot, she water bended two Water Whips at two of Jones' men, knocking them off their feet._

"I happen to have no dress in my cabin."

_On the island, two bone cages are being swung back and forth. Suddenly, one snaps off and sends it going down. Jack and Dax are spinning horizontally, and sent falling downward below. Explosions rock the _Black Pearl_, blowing up the captain's quarters. Olette Blood Bends a few of Beckett's men into submission. A swordfight between Jack, Eric, Seifer, and Norrington ensues in an abandoned tower. Sebastian and Dax run towards a sword to throw to Ariel or Kida, only to run into one of Jones' men. Jack got up and paled at something at his feet._

"Jack Sparrow is a dying breed," Beckett stated as he looked out of the window, overlooking Port Royal, "He, along with the Merpeople and the lost people of Atlantis have a choice: find a place in the New World Order… or perish."

_Jack and Dax run away from an angry mob of cannibals on the beach shore. Davey Jones snarled as he looked over his_ _left shoulder._

"We're looking for this," Eric stated as he put down a piece of paper, showing a key of sorts.

"The chest of Davey Jones," Jack smirked at this.

"The Third Heart of the Sea," Dax muttered in dread.

"Howdy Duty," Frey groaned at this as he crossed his arms and sighed in exasperation.

_Jones pulls out a key from his tentacle beard to show someone._

"What exactly… is in the chest?" Eric asked. This caused Jack, Kida, and Tia to look at him.

_The key is turned, unlocking the air-tight chest as dust was shot out of it. The lid slowly opened… and everything faded to black…_

"Who… are my parents?" Olette demanded angrily, holding Ursula/Vanessa up by her neck as the woman smirked.

_Jones laughed in the dark… heh heh heh_

The Flying Dutchman shot out of the water, next to the Black Pearl. Jones standing with his crew snarled and yelled out, "SPARROOOOOOOOOOOOOW! !" the Triple guns were popping out, taking aim.

Jack gulped, "Oh, bugger."

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**From the creative mind that brought you Aquatic Kingdom Hearts and AKH: The Rising of Atlantis…**

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The Dutchman fired as Jones shouted out, "Summon… THE KRAKEN!"

"All the hearts are coming together," Ursula snickered as she held Triton's Trident.

_Then tentacles snaked over the Pearl, about to unleash its fury on the occupants. Cannons went off, cannibals lunged and gave chase. A brilliant swordfight between four skilled men ensued on a wheel. Eric and Stitch climb a sail as the Kraken began to destroy the vessel they were on. Jack Sparrow took aim with a rifle as he shot it. all kinds of stuff happened, as later Jack, Ariel, Helga, and Norrington look down a hole of sorts._

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**Jack Sparrow**

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_Jack quickly blocks a blow with four swords at him._

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**Eric Thatch**

_Eric kisses Ariel passionately. He and Stitch face down Jones' men with his sword and Fist at the ready, with Stitch battle ready as well._

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**Princess Ariel**

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_Ariel water bends a barrage of water and ice whip attacks on the Kraken's tentacles, along with Kida, whom is using her combi Stick. Jones' men slurp out of the fallen ship._

Ariel scolds Jack as she states, "One day, there'll come a moment when you have the chance to do the right thing."

"I love those moments," Jack stated surprisingly.

_A whole lot of scenes of battle and daring escapes pop up as finally, Jones' men attack at full blast._

Then Jack finished as he walked away, "I like to wave at them as they pass by."

_Wood ships flying behind them, Jack and Eric draw their blades out as they attack together at an unseen enemy._

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**Aquatic Kingdom Hearts: Dead Man's Chest**

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"I… am your father," Jones snickered.

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**Next Chapter: Prisoners to the Trade; Keys and what they Unlock**


	2. Bonus Trailer

**Stone-Man85 Writing Productions**

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And I kept dreaming…" _Flynn told his young five year old niece in her room, tucked in bed, _"… of this amazing world that I thought I would never see."

_Flynn is sitting next to his little niece, while she's tucked in bed, and in her apartment room. _

"And then something happened, something deeply amazing," _Flynn explained, with his niece gaining much enthusiasm, as her knees were curled up to her chin, and a bright smile on her face, as Flynn finished. _"I somehow entered that world."

_Her room was covered in anime and cosplay posters, along with magical girls and such. There was even two posters entitled Space Paranoids, and the Black Hole. But on her shelves, she had some computer games, and action figures and statues of both anime, and of the videogame called… Tron. In fact, the little girl was holding a plush toy of the same character, as her uncle went on._

_She squeezed the toy tightly as she asked, _"What happened next, Uncle Kevin?"

_Flynn just smiled as she leaned close to her, until their foreheads touched, _"Well, that's gonna have to wait until next time." _He then kissed her on the cheek, and tucked her in, as he walked towards the door, turned off the lights, and said to his niece as she snuggled in bed with her Tron plush._

"Goodnight, Chisame."

_It rained as young Chisame looked out the window, with deep sadness in her young eyes, as the TV and radio each said the same thing._

"ENCOM CEO Kevin Flynn was reported missing today. He was last seen at his sister's home, with his sister and her young daughter, Flynn's niece, Chisame Hasegawa."

_She then clutched the Tron plush in her arms, embracing it in a lonely way, and buried her cheek in it, hiding the tear that threatened to go down, as she silently wept for her beloved uncle._

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**In association with Walt Disney Studios**

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_On the rooftops of the tallest building in Tokyo, Japan, Chisame Hasegawa, now a fifteen year old girl and dressed in a school girl outfit, is looking all over the view. She stood next to a light post, deep in thought, in which the look in her eyes was covered up by her glasses. She crossed _

"I promised your cousin Sam that I would tell you and him all I knew of your uncle's whereabouts."

_Chisame was sitting on a couch, with Alan Bradley, acting President of EIMOS computer corporations. _

"And…" _she asked, looking at him, rather hopeful, _"Did you find anything, Mr. Bradley?"

_She sat in a seat aboard a monorail, overlooking the pass by of her small neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan, heading back at the Mahora Dorms._

"I was paged last night," _Alan stated, but it didn't earn any merit from Chisame, until it mentioned, _"It was from your uncle. Kevin Flynn." _Chisame's face was lit up with surprise, as she listened on, and looked to Bradley for more answers_, "It came from your uncle's arcade. But it's a real nail biting mystery."

_Chisame made a stop to Flynn's Arcade when she got off the monorail and took a walk there. She stopped as she looked up at the old neon light sign, and up at the billboard of the Tron videogame._

"Wait, why's that such a mystery?"

"The number's been disconnected for nearly ten years when he disappeared."

She entered the dust filled arcade, using a flashlight to look around for any clues. As she looked around, heading towards her uncle's old office, she passed the old Space Paranoids game, as well as Light Cycle and finally the Tron arcade game.

"You see, two night ago, your uncle came over and talked to me about something earth-shattering," _Alan stated, sounding rather credulous about what came next,_ "He said the discovery he made was about to change everything we ever knew. I mean, uh… science, medicine, economics, religion."

_As she entered his office, she looked around, seeing the old place he had once called his home. The place he and Alan used to hang around, and looked over to his desk._

"He wouldn't have left that, Chisame."

_And then, she found something: a hard drive memory stick for the newer line of computers._

"He wouldn't have left Sam and you."

_She picked it up, studying it in dire confusion at the small little piece of hardware._

"Mr. Bradley, you make it sound as if I'll find him," _Chisame said as she grabbed her school bag and jacket, not believe a word Alan had been telling her, as she looked to him with a hardened gaze, _"We live in the real world. Reality is Reality; no amount of happy endings, dastardly villains who want world domination, or fantasy/science fiction, or true romance will pop up for me. I don't believe in this ridiculous nonsense; not since I was a kid." _she then huffed as she mocked, _"It's not like I'll find him and he'll say, 'Oh hey, Little Byte-Girl, I just lost track of time', and then things'll be better."

_Alan smirked at the girl, and gave her a warm hug, and broke it up as he sighed sadly at her, _"Wouldn't that be something."

_She then walked out the arcade, not noticing the Tron game flickered for a moment, with a voice whispering… _

… Chisame …

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**There is another world outside of our own.**

* * *

_Back at her school, in the science department, she, and along with another student, Satomie Hakase, are working on something they had found on the memory stick. The blueprints to some sort of ray gun, similar to the Shrink Ray from Honey, I shrunk the Kids. Immediately, Satomie had built it in over a week, without sleep of course. Afterwards, Chisame was standing right next to Satomie, who was sitting down, and observing newfound data files, until she opened one up, revealing a digital timer._

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**A world in which Man had created using the tool that defines our minds and imaginations: the Computer.**

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"Um, what is that?" _Chisame asked, looking a little confused and nervous._

_Satomie hummed herself in thought, as she straightened her glasses, _"I could be wrong, but I'd have to say…"

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**A world where the Fight for Survival is not Just a Game. Where Love and Escape Do Not Compute.**

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_As she was thinking aloud, the ray gun slowly pointed to them, on the servos that turned it. Then, the Digitizer started glowing and humming to life, without the girls noticing._

"… a timer?"

_Chisame raised an eyebrow in confusion, and looked to Satomie,_ "A timer? A timer for wha…?"

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… **And once again, the User will step into that World.**

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_The question went unanswered as the two heard a humming getting louder, and turned around, slowly and nervously, as they hoped what they thought was just their fears getting the best of them. But it wasn't, as a big flash filled the room, and then… total darkness._

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_Chisame gulped as she breathed heavily, whispering, _"This isn't happening…"

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_Suddenly, the two found themselves in what appeared to be a darkened futuristic world. The buildings, signs, and even the road they were on, were lit up by different colored neon lights. Then suddenly, a bigger light shined on them; a search light in the sky. And where the light was from, was a black and neon red light Recognizer, towered over them. The two girls were about to make a break for it, until the floor around them began to descend downward, trapping them both._

_The two are then captured, and are now flying across the sky in the Recognizer, with two other Recognizers alongside the first one. While in there, the two are thrown into a holding cell by the Crimson Guards, along with other teenagers and adults, each wearing some different kind of outfit, but they all had a similar design; they were black skin tight outfits, with armored pieces that glowed different colored neon light computer chip patterns._

_A little later on, Chisame, now in a similar outfit and without her glasses, is pushed in by the Crimson Guards in a spectator/office room, where a bald headed fellow is typing like crazy, a warrior who's face was hidden, and finally a black and yellow warrior, with his face hidden as well._

_Unable to cope with this any longer, Chisame finally shouted, _"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?"

_Then, the yellow/black warrior's helmet folded back into the armor, and revealed himself to be… Kevin Flynn._

_Shocked by this, Chisame whispered, _"Uncle Flynn?"

_The imposter Flynn walked up to her, until he was nearly six inches from her, and smiled darkly to her as he answered, _"Sorry. I'm not your uncle." _he then cupper her cheek, just as her uncle did, adding to the confusion for her as he whispered_, "But I'm glad you got the page."

_The Game Grid was lit up with anticipated and excited programs of different kinds, as they were all waiting for the games to commence. _

_As the Sirens were done undressing Chisame and Satomie, and refitting them with their clothes, armor, and Identity Disks, the two girls were still standing there on the platforms, looking at one of the Sirens, Gem. _

"So…" _Satomie asked, no longer wearing her glasses, _"What exactly do we need to do?"

_In the arena, a young male warrior was preparing to fight one of the Bestial Virus Wildebeasts. A green visor appeared in front of his eyes, as well as a black helmet top on his head, as he pulled out his Identity Disk, which resembled a chakram. As he held it to his side, the chakram disk had one single green neon line lighting up at the outside, which radiated heat._

"Survive," _was all that Gem told the two._

_The young warrior then threw his Identity Disk at the beast, which was now charging at him, like he would a chakram or a Frisbee for that matter. When it struck at the beast's left front leg, it shattered into a million pieces, as it roared out in pain and anger._

_The girls meet up with the young warrior in a private room, as they find that his name is Dru. _"I can get you out of the Cyberspace world and back into your own."

"How?" _Chisame asked._

"Tron and Flynn," _was all that he answered. _"Tron's a hero in our world, and your uncle… he was the creator."

_The warrior, Rinzler, stops his 5__th__ Generation Lightcycle, as he looks out towards the area to where the three teens, along with four others, made their escape from the Light Cycle arena._

"If we find them," _Dru promises them both, but mostly to Chisame, _"I'm sure you all can get out of here before Clu 2 or Sark find you all."

_Dru cries out in a warrior fashion as he throws his disk at an unseen enemy. _

_He and Chisame are riding together on a Light Cycle, racing against Clu 2 and Rinzler. The two hop over Rinzler as the light wall behind them follows their every move._

"Here they come," _a fellow program named Drive reports in his Light Car, along with Satomie and the Twins._

_Rinzler stands battle ready, against Dru and another program turned warrior. But unlike the two challengers, Rinzler holds in his possession, two Identity Disk chakrams._

_Tron holds Rinzler and Jarvis in painful holds as he shouts to the kids, "_Run! Now!_"_

_Sark, Clu2, Rinzler, and Jarvis are pulled up on a wall-less elevator, along with Crimson Guards, to Flynn's hideout. When the lights are on, they find the place empty. Sark shouts out in fierce anger as he topples over a table, loaded with fruit and silver wear._

_An enemy attacks Chisame, who flinches with her hands up. Unaware of her power in the Cyberspace World, her armor creates light shields that deflect the Identity Disks back to her opponents. _

_Satomie utilizes her abilities, by creating windows that act as computer consoles._

_Clu 2, in his full armor, walks along an open area, as fireworks explode in the blackened and thunder filled skies above him._

_The teens are all walking with Tron at front, as he stops. The teen programs, and two users, look in front of them, and Chisame is completely surprised almost brought to tears as to what she sees in front of them._

_There, overlooking the landscape of Tron City, wearing a white Buddha priest getup with an Identity Disk on his back, and looking rather good for a fifty year old… _

"Uncle Kevin?"

"Chisame."

_Chisame chuckled lightly, as she brushed away a stray tear from her cheek, _"You lost track of time, didn't you?"

* * *

**-Fade to Black-

* * *

**

"You have no idea."

_Then in a moment, only Flynn's eyes are shown, as they open up._

* * *

"Alright, Flynn," _Sark whispered threateningly, sitting down with his head down, as his helmet folds back into his armor, and he looks up at an unseen window, _"Your move."

* * *

**-Fade to Black-**

* * *

_Clu 2 and Tron shatter the floor under them, as they fall down, and suddenly, against the laws of Gravity in the Real World, they flip and land on the floor beneath them, now fighting upside down._

_On the Light Cycle arena, Dru tries a Light Cycle tactic that nearly scares Chisame as she clutches onto him for dear life. The Light Cycle makes a sharp turn, causing the Light Wall to appear right in front of Rinzler. This caused him to shatter his Light Cycle and be sent flying across the floor._

_Dru stops the bike as he took deep breaths at his action and sighed, _"Whoa. Didn't think that would work."

_Still shivering from fright, Chisame squeaked out, _"Don't… don't do that again. Please?"

* * *

**TRON REFORMATION**

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**Coming Soon to Fanfiction near you.**

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_Sark and a couple of the Crimson Guards fall down from an airborne Recognizer. As they do, they each pull out two glowing neon red sticks, and immediately take sitting positions. Then suddenly, all around them, the shape and pattern of a futuristic small jet began to form around them, and then solidified to create LightJets, and then roared to life as they soared through the skies of the Cyberspace._

"They can fly now?" _Chisame yelped out in surprise._

_Tron shrugged, _"Who knew."


	3. The Key that Unlocks pt1

**Forgive me if this chapter seems small, but it's a small update, so please appreciate it.**

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**Aquatic Kingdom Hearts: Dead Man's Chest**

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**Chapter 1: Prisoners of the Trade; The Key that Unlocks pt.1**

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**Atlantic Ocean**

**Night Time**

In the waters, not too far away from the Caribbean, the USS Lincoln, a private ship owned by Preston Whitmore, was returning from the newly risen and thought to be lost, continent that was known in all legends and myths as Atlantis. It had only been a week since its ascension from the deep waters, but the whole world was in talk about it. The fact that the once thought fictional continent had suddenly become fact once it had shown up out above the waters of the Atlantic, with a brilliant pillar of blue light shooting up into the skies. Only the USS Lincoln had shown to pull up to it, which was all done by the help of one Preston Whitmore, who was in fact a friend of one of the island continent's inhabitance, who had convinced that his team had to be picked up and returned home for not only a well-earned rest, but a hero's welcome.

And at the moment, the team was taking a well-earned rest down in the ship's berthing racks at the time.

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**Inside**

**Berthing 2**

Inside the Guest Berthing, the team that had not just discovered, saved, nor brought Atlantis, but also saved the world from the one that sunk it, was currently sleeping in the bunks. Helga Sinclair's team was sleeping it off, with the exception of one Gaeton Moliere, AKA Mole, who was tossing and turning on the floor, rolling around and grumbling to himself as he was hoping to have a bed of dirt to sleep on rather than a mattress and steel. The Special Agents, or rather the young adventurers, were sleeping rather better.

Well, except for one.

In his rack, Eric Thatch, was having a rather difficult time trying to go to sleep. He just laid there in his rack, with his arms around his chest, and looking up at the roof of his bunk. Sleeping with a snore in his voice, was Dax, as he lay sprawled atop Eric's pillow, close to his head. But that wasn't what was on the Seablade Bearer's mind. What was on his mind were the events that had followed through during the latest adventure with him, his girlfriend, Ariel, and all his friends. He and the others had experienced a lot, grew from it, learned a lot about themselves, as well as their pasts and destinies. But at the moment, he was only thinking about what the Mandarin, Nuada, had asked him before he had caught the boy in Shangri-La.

* * *

_The Mandarin sneered at the boy, as he was down on his knees, held by the two Huns that brought him in. "I find it rather odd… Eric Thatch," Nuada questioned, adding a bit of disgust in the boy's name, as he asked his question, "The Heathen Goddess, Calypso, only gave my people the Heart of Atlantis, while the other two Hearts were separated from the one that gave Life. The Trident, which Governs the Sea, was given to those vile Merpeople. The Third Heart, was given to Man, which governs Death; a most amusing and stupid irony. But my people were only given the Heart of Atlantis, the Heart that gives the sea Life."_

"_Your point being," Eric asked._

_Nuada turned his gaze to where the view of the icy mountains were shown, as he stated, "Calypso created the Seablade to act as the Fourth Heart, The Heart that Balances All." and sighed as he whispered, but made it audible for the boy to hear, "… and she entrusts it to one mere human mortal." the Mandarin turned back to the boy, and walked forward, stopping six inches from the boy, as the two Huns lifted him back up to his feet, as the two were now eye-to-eye. "The Goddess resented and denied my people… Me… that power. That power that should me rightfully mine." He then got into the boy's face, as he whispered his big question, "So…. What made you so special to be given this responsibility? This power?"_

_Eric looked away for a moment, but then once he found the answer, he returned his gaze back to Nuada, and broke the long silence between the two, "Nothing. I'm just a high school student from Port Royal in the Caribbean."_

* * *

As he looked up at the roof, he allowed the words to ring in his head constantly. So constant, he couldn't even sleep at the moment as that memory kept going into his head. Finally, he sighed as he got out of the rack, put his boots and jacket on, as he left his weapons behind, and quietly strolled out of there. He made sure enough not to awaken the others, as he past Ariel's rack, then Frey's, Kida, or even Lilo and Stitch, or the silent Wally, who was sleeping inside his shell.

He carefully opened the door, making sure not to wake anyone up, and closed it. He had thought that he was careful enough, though not completely. As slowly but groggily, the redheaded Mermaid's eyes slowly opened long enough to see her lover leave the berthing area.

"Eric?" she lightly moaned, slowly waking up.

* * *

**Outside**

The young Seablade Bearer was outside on the starboard boat deck, leaning on one of the rails. His attention was focused out on the view in front of him, allowing him to think. The darkened oceans beat against the ship's steel hull, but was reflecting light on the half-moon shown to glow above the star-filled skies. The scene would have brought the boy peace, if his head wasn't so jumbled on if his answer to the vanquished Nuada didn't seem uncertain for him. Why did he always feel this way about himself? After all the amazing accomplishments, he still felt like he didn't seem worthwhile.

He sighed to himself as he hung his head down, "This stinks."

"Eric?" someone gently called out to him, grabbing his attention as he slowly spun around. There, he saw Ariel, awake and dressed in her civilian attire, minus her boots, and walked up to him, as she stood by his side. The two stood there, leaning on the rail together, and quiet for a moment. The silence, however, was broken, as Ariel spoke up again, looking to Eric with a smile on her face, "You remember this place?"

The boy seemed slightly confused by that question, as he looked around the ocean. Then turned to her with a cocked eyebrow as he asked, "Sorry, Ariel. But most of the ocean to me, looks the same…"

"It's where I first saw you, Goofy," she giggled, nudging him in a playful scold.

Eric looked to her confused, and then back to the sea, as he scrunched his face in thought, thinking hard on that. But then he shook his head as he stated in fact, "N-Nah, that's not right." He looked to Ariel as he replied, "The first time we met was when I first heard you singing back on the beach." He chuckled, as he shook his head, "I think that was the first time I started to like girls."

Ariel had to giggle at that as well, both of them now in good moods. But she shook her head, as she explained, "That was the first time you saw me." She then pointed out at the ocean before them, "Over there. That was where your ship was sailing through. And that was where I first saw you." She looked to him and smiled, "Before the storm, I saw you walking along the port side, with Max following behind you." Ariel then looked up at the sky, and sighed, "That was also the first time I ever saw the night sky. Before…"

Eric remembered what she was getting at, and then saw the look on her face go from happy to slight depressed. He had learned along their previous adventure that her mother, Queen Athena, had been killed by a human ship, in Whitecap Bay. That had led to her father enforcing the law that all Merfolk refrain from making contact with the surface world. But all that changed with the previous couple now.

And Eric placed his hand on her shoulder, getting her attention, as he smiled warmly to her, "I know."

The two were quiet now, as Ariel's smile returned, and Eric's smile only seem to broaden a little. The young teenagers stared deeply into each other's eyes, and the rest of the ocean blurred away into a featureless fog. The noise of the wave, the sound of the ship's equipment running; all of it ceased to exist. For a perfect instant in time, each of them was all that existed in the other's universe. Eric reached out and squeezed her smooth, small hand, and felt a somewhat electric tingle whenever he touched her hand. And to his amazement, Ariel reacted at the same time – as she felt the same thing.

As if a moment beckoned them close, they leaned towards one another, and closed their eyes for a kiss.

And then someone called out, "Ariel!" the two stopped as they looked around, searching for the source of the voice. The search went on, until the voice called up again, "Ariel! Down here!" they looked out in the ocean, and saw sticking out of the water, was Flounder.

"Flounder!" Ariel shouted, smiling brightly as she saw her best friend again, "What are you doing out here?"

Flounder hopped around in the water, as he shouted out to them, "Everyone down in Atlantica's heard the news about Atlantis! They say there's big things going on around as well." He then hopped up as he shouted, "And your dad… he wants to see you… right away!"

Ariel and Eric were both a bit surprised by that piece of information. But Ariel knew when she needed to go home, and this was now. She hopped over the rail, but hung there, as she looked to Eric, giving him a pleading smile, "I'll be back at Port Royal as fast as I can, okay?"

Eric smiled, knowing full well he was gonna lose this battle, "I'll be waiting."

"Oh, um, Eric…" she pleaded, but asked, "… when Sebastian wakes up, would you let him know? And apologize for me for not telling him sooner?"

He shook his head, suppressing a chuckle or two, "I'll soften the blow for him."

She smirked at him on that, and quickly leaned in as she planted a deep kiss onto his surprised lips. The kiss lasted only about five seconds, but for the two it seemed to last for more than an hour. She then pulled back slowly, as the two smiled at one another from another romantic moment. She then fell backwards, smiling still as she crashed into the water. Eric looked around, hoping to see her somewhere in sight for her to pop up. And just like that, Ariel popped up, transformed back into her mermaid form, and waving at him.

"I'll see you and the others back at Port Royal, okay," she waved back at him, as Flounder swam up next to her, waving back at him as well.

He smirked and waved back to them, as he shouted, "I can't wait!"

She blew him a kiss, as she and her fishy friend dived in, with no trace of the youngest daughter of Triton or Flounder ever being seen. Eric sighed with a smile on his face, as he leaned on the railing, looking out at the ocean to where Ariel was. However, his smile slowly faded, as he berated himself about not talking about the real problem at hand. What the Mandarin had asked him, about what made him so special, it plagued him. Even though he had still defeated Nuada, with the help of his friends, the question of why he was so special with this destiny was slowly driving him mad.

He grumbled as he rubbed his temple, "Ugh. Why? Why? Why is this making me uneasy here?"

"What's makin' ya uneasy," a familiar voice popped up, causing him to turn to his right. There, scurrying up to him, and hopped on the boy's shoulder, was Dax. He leaned on the boy's as he asked, "C'mon, kiddo. You and Ariel didn't have a fight, and I saw the proof a while ago. So what's buggin' ya? I might be able to help; I'm pretty good at listening." the little orange otter shrugged confidently, "I'll help and answer out anyway possible."

The boy sighed, taking his gaze away from the little otter guardian, wondering whether or not he should ask. But knowing that he would eventually have to ask. So, with a deep sigh letting it all out, he looked to Dax and asked, "Dax… why was I chosen to be the Seablade Bearer?"

Dax froze, with his confident stance and smirk on his face… and dropped it in a matter of ten seconds. The little critter groaned, not sure of how to answer that as he replied, "Except that."

Eric shook his head, standing up, and nearly knocking the otter off his shoulder, the boy scoffed in near frustration, as he interrogated, "Wha? Dax! You said that Calypso picked me out to be the Seablade Bearer…"

"Because you were born in the certain circumstances," Dax pointed out, "Like the others, you fell in love with a mermaid, and you're friends with both worlds, Merfolk and Atlantean. You're even able to master the Master State now." And mumbled, "And the form you take now's pretty good-looking than what Sora usually turned into."

"Yeah, but Frey was chosen to hold onto that Dagger of Time he's got," Eric pointed out, arguing rather soundly on the facts at hand, "He wasn't born in any circumstances. And at least he found out why he was chosen: because there's something worth inside of him." He then looked to himself credulously, and asked pointing to himself, "What's so special about me? And please don't point out the stuff that I can do before and after this adventurer life."

Dax stumbled on it for a moment, and thought about it, scratching his chin on it. He then perked up as he snapped his fingers, "Oh, that's easy. You've got a princess deeply in love with ya."

"So does Frey," Eric reminded him, but also pointed out, "And Seifer. That, and Seifer also has the Fist of Hades and the Flameblade." The boy looked to the otter, as he urged and pushed, "You said that Calypso chose me. But why me? What makes me so special?" The otter remained silent, and confused to find an answer for the boy, but he wasn't patient, as Eric continued to ask, until the final question was shouted in frustration, "What? What? WHAT?"

Dax's shoulder slumped in defeat, as the otter sighed, groaning as well, building up as he finally shouted out, "AAAALRIGHT! I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?" the little otter finally calmed down, heaving and breathing from his yell. Finally, Dax looked to the young Seablade Bearer, with a look of hopelessness in his face, and no answer to the boy's difficult question, "I don't know."

Eric sighed, and looked back at the ocean, mumbling, "That's what I thought."

* * *

**Next Chapter: Prisoners of the Trade; The Key that Unlocks pt.2**


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